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Nintendo is very cautious regarding how it decides to let others use its intellectual property and has displayed a no-nonsense approach on many occasions over the years. Nintendo's sometimes overly harsh policies have now taken aim at a Twitter user who uploaded a scanned 25-year-old strategy guide that belonged to the company.
Back in January, Nintendo blocked over 1300 YouTube videos that featured its copyrighted soundtracks. YouTuber GilvaSunner states that he uploaded the videos due to the fact that there was no other way to listen to the music without actually playing the games themselves. The YouTuber also noted that he did not monetize any of the videos and merely hoped that it would encourage Nintendo to place the music on some music streaming services.
Recently, Nintendo has sent a takedown notice to a Twitter user who scanned a 25-year-old Super Mario 64 and uploaded it to the internet. The guide included pictures of intricate 3D dioramas that were tailor-made for the guide and used to show players how to get through each level of the game. There was formerly no other way to access the guidebook besides buying an original copy off of a merchant site before the Twitter user scanned it and uploaded it.
It was a rather strange move by Nintendo to ensure that the guidebook did not get out to the public, considering that both Super Mario 64 and its strategy guidebook have been around for 25 years. While strange, it was not an unexpected move from the company, as Nintendo has previously even issued fan-made games with DMCA takedowns.
Another example of Nintendo's strict guidelines regarding content creation using its properties was the Nintendo Creators Program. The program basically locked YouTube content creators into a contract with the company that forced them to share their profits with Nintendo. Thankfully, this is no longer the case and creators are now allowed to upload content regarding Nintendo games without needing to share their profits with the company.
While Nintendo gave up on the Nintendo Creator Program, there are still some practices that the company refuses to budge over. The company often finds issues with fan-made games and emulators, which makes one wonder how long it will take Nintendo to take down the newly released unofficial PC port of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. While a lot of effort has gone into the port, time will only tell how long it will be before Nintendo issues the creator with a DMCA.